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Do Economists Punish Less?

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  • Jonas Pilgaard Kaiser

    (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University, Aarhus V 8210, Denmark)

  • Kasper Selmar Pedersen

    (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University, Aarhus V 8210, Denmark)

  • Alexander K. Koch

    (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University, Aarhus V 8210, Denmark)

Abstract

A number of studies discuss whether and how economists differ from other disciplines in the amount that they contribute to public goods. We view this debate as incomplete because it neglects the willingness to sanction non-cooperative behavior, which is crucial for maintaining social order and for sustaining the provision of public goods. We study the decision whether to engage in costly punishment of a free rider in a survey-based experiment with 1423 students from seven study areas in the social sciences, as well as medicine at Aarhus University, Denmark. Using a dictator game and a social dilemma game, that captures essential features of the public goods game, we replicate previous findings that economics students give significantly less than students from other disciplines. However, when subjects decide whether or not to punish a free rider, we find that economics students are just as likely to punish as students from other disciplines.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Pilgaard Kaiser & Kasper Selmar Pedersen & Alexander K. Koch, 2018. "Do Economists Punish Less?," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jgames:v:9:y:2018:i:4:p:75-:d:172923
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    Cited by:

    1. Sundemo, Mattias & Löfgren, Åsa, 2022. "Do business and economics studies erode prosocial values?," Working Papers in Economics 827, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2024.

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